Jews on Broadway: An Historical Survey of Performers, Playwrights, Composers, Lyricists and Producers (30 page)

would be the kiss of death, apparently Broadway needed just that, a good old-fashioned musical, only this one was about accepting gays. Go figure.

La Cage
ran for 1,176 performances.

Despite the success of
La Cage
, we were still the underdogs when it came to the Tony Awards and not expected to top
Sunday in the Park
with George
. Much to our surprise, we won for Best Musical, and Arthur, Jerry and Harvey walked off with their own Tonys.

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7. Young Playwrights with a Message, Inflation, Disney and Me
On a side note, shortly thereafter, co-producer Marty Richards was having a fifth anniversary party in the Hamptons, and I was invited. In fact, the whole
La Cage
cast was invited. The setting was a beautiful house on the beach with topiaries, a marvelous ocean view and the Peter Duchin Orchestra playing. After making the rounds, saying hello to the cast and crew of the show, I found that I was seated at a table with Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Phyllis Newman, Bob Fosse, and acclaimed director Josh Logan and his wife, Netta. I recall looking around in awe of these people whose work I had admired for years. This was a table of Broadway legends — and me. I’ve never forgotten that evening and how much it meant to me as a still fairly young producer.

And Then Came
Will Rogers Follies

My other significant show during the ’80s and ’90s was
The Will
Rog ers Follies
. It was significant to me, not only because it was a hit, but because it gave me the opportunity to actually work with Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Cy Coleman
.

Oddly enough, I was almost not involved in
The Will Rogers Follies
at all. As was the case with Alan Menken and our Nederlander audition, the creative team behind the show invited me to a presentation of the show. Sometimes it can be very charming when the writers and composers present their own work, but it doesn’t always accomplish the goal of getting a producer on board. I was honored to be sitting in and watching as Betty Comden and Adolph Green played the songs, with Peter Stone (also Jewish) who was writing the book also on hand. Tommy Tune even stopped by for a brief cameo. The problem was, when they were finished, I had to admit that I did not really think they had a full-fledged show on their hands.

This seasoned creative team, however, did not give up that easily.

I was then invited to see another presentation at the landmark New York restaurant Tavern on the Green. This time, Keith Carradine was on hand, and he made all the difference in the world. He was funny, insightful and totally brought the show to life. I remember saying that I could certainly watch this guy for two-and-a-half hours. And in the end, not only did I enjoy producing the show with Keith Carradine in the starring 173

Jews on Broadway

role, but theatergoers enjoyed the musical at the Palace Theater for 981

performances. In addition,
The Will Rogers Follies
would go on to win six Tony Awards.

I enjoyed the opportunity to work with Betty Comden and Adolph Green. They were the consummate professionals, always there for meet-ings, rehearsals and ready to do whatever was necessary. They were indeed troopers, even at one point when Betty broke her leg. The only way to get to the meeting room at the Palace Theater was by a spiral staircase that went down to the basement. Yet, it never slowed Betty down one bit. Even with crutches she went to every meeting and never complained.

It was evident that both Betty Comden and Adolph Green simply loved what they did and nothing was going to stop them.

As for Cy Coleman, he was also great to work with, very comfortable in his own genius. I say this because he was a child prodigy and his music was such a part of him that it was innate. He’d simply get up, perform and enjoy every minute of it. He clearly loved his music and his work.

I also recall that when we brought Marla Maples in to join the show, Coleman stepped up to help her. An aspiring actress, Maples was known all throughout the media because of her relationship with billionaire Donald Trump, whom she would later marry. However, when she auditioned for a role in the show, some of the producers were concerned that she couldn’t handle the part. So, Cy Coleman, along with Tommy Tune, volunteered to take the extra time necessary to work with her. Sure enough, after working with Cy, and Tommy, Marla Maples turned out to be a big hit in the show.

Along with the successful shows such as
La Cage
and
Will Rogers
came a few flops along the way. Nonetheless, my experiences during this era as a burgeoning producer were highlighted by working on some marvelous shows with some legendary talents.

The ’80s and ’90s were indeed a changing time for Broadway. From the new breed of young playwrights focusing their attention on significant social causes, to the mouse that roared, bringing Disney to 42nd Street, the Jewish influence continued with a new generation of names and faces interspersed with some familiar favorites, such as Sondheim and Coleman. And while writers like Alfred Uhry dutifully reminded us of the anti– Semitism that had existed in the past, and was still prevalent to some extent in other parts of the country, I was aware of my good fortune.

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7. Young Playwrights with a Message, Inflation, Disney and Me
I was lucky to be working and living in New York City at a time when I was not a victim of the prejudice or persecution that befell so many Jewish people who had come before me. While I was grateful, like so many Jews in the theater industry, I was aware that our Broadway success did not mean we could ever take our good fortune for granted.

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8

The New Millennium

Sees Broadway Breakthroughs:

Veterans and Newcomers

The 20th century brought theater from a much-needed form of entertainment and self-expression for the new immigrants to a forum for social and political expression as well as marvelous entertainment. The Jewish influence impacted theater in all facets both on and off stage, broad ening the way in which the Jewish people and their culture were presented and perceived by a secular audience. The Jewish contributors to Broadway during the 20th century faced their own challenges, whether it was the Great Depression, anti–Semitism, the war efforts or McCarthyism. Through it all, they never buckled under or stood idly by without being heard. Instead the Jewish people continued to have a voice on stage, and be part of the message, much as Tovah Feldshuh noted earlier.

No matter what was taking place socially or politically, the Jewish people let their indomitable spirit continue to shine on the stages of Broadway.

By the end of the century, not only had the Jewish people made a signifi -

cant contribution to Broadway, but their contributions also impacted the way in which theater continues to be presented today.

At the turn of the new century, there was great concern over Y2K.

Broadway, however, was always prepared with their own source of backup energy, which came not from technology, but from a wealth of creative talent.

As the new century began, it was clear that the social activism of the 1990s had spilled over into the new era, along with the passion for presenting top-notch entertainment. Of course, as the cost of staging a 176

8. The New Millennium Sees Broadway Breakthroughs

show, particularly a musical, continued to increase, taking a low-risk route with a proven commodity was still the best bet. With that in mind, revivals continued to be one means of drawing an audience for a musical.

Popular movies, such as
Thoroughly Modern Millie
,
The Full Monty
and those with significant cable television exposure — such as
Legally Blonde
,
Shrek
,
The Producers
and the Disney films proved to be another manner in which to find material with a built-in fan base. The music and/or stories of popular entertainers such as Billy Joel, the Four Seasons and Frank Sinatra also provided shows with an established fan base. Even television shows, such as
The Addams Family
, could be fertile sources for musicals with fans at the ready.

While ticket prices limited families from making frequent the ritual of seeing a weekly or monthly Broadway show, as was the case in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s (especially for Jewish families), Broadway theater remained very appealing for that special night out. It might cost a family $500, but for a special occasion it became fashionable to see the characters in
The Lion King
or
Mary Poppins
up close performing live onstage.

The number of new shows in a given year continued to be much lower than in the past. Totals were down from over 100 in the early years of the 20th century to around 70 per year in the 1960s to roughly 45

per year by 2005, nearly half of which were revivals. Nonetheless, quality pre vailed over quantity, and the first decade saw a number of highly acclaimed productions, and box office hits; I was very happy to be a part of a few of them.

9/11 and Broadway

Before talking about the shows and stars of the decade, it would be remiss not to mention the effects that 9/11/2001 had on Broadway in the early part of the new century. To see Nathan Lane and cast members of
The Producers
come out during the final curtain call and stop the orchestra to ask people to please give money for the ongoing rescue efforts, some ten days after the horrible tragedy, was a testament to how all New Yorkers were pitching in, along with the rest of the country, to help in the after-math.

In the weeks and months following 9/11, tourism came to a halt, and even many New Yorkers were fearful of coming into Manhattan.

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Jews on Broadway

Peo ple in New York City, Washington, D.C., and all over the country were in shock and disbelief that such a terrorist attack could occur here in the United States.

If it weren’t for the both the city and state government pushing to get Broadway up and running as soon as possible, many shows would have closed. The city purchased 50,000 theater tickets, while the state put $1 million behind a promotional campaign for Broadway. The idea was to show that New York City would not shut down and give in to terrorism. The lights on Broadway were, and still are, a symbol of New York’s vitality and resolve. Sadly, many of the downtown shows and Off Broadway productions did not get any help from the city or state, and some were forced to close despite very good reviews.

While the theater was up and running within a short time after 9/11, it took time to fill all of the seats again. The usually bustling holiday season was much quieter than in the past, with fewer tourists and a much-subdued holiday spirit. It took time, but the audiences did return.

A lot of credit has to be given to the cast members and to the crews who went back to work on Broadway within a few days of the tragedy.

Breakthroughs: The Veterans

MEL BROOKS

Few people have the distinction of winning an Oscar, Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award. Mel Kaminsky, better known as Mel Brooks, is one of them. While Brooks’ long list of accomplishments spanned four decades before he landed firmly on Broadway, when he finally “made it,”

he did so with gusto, presenting one of the biggest musicals in the history of The Great White Way.

Brooks was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1926, the son of German and Russian Jews. Small and often picked on as a child, Brooks turned to comedy as a means of coping. At 18, he enlisted in the army and went on to see action in Germany during World War II. By the time he returned to Fort Dix in New Jersey, he had been promoted to corporal.

It was after the war that Mel Brooks decided to try his hand at stand up comedy. Like Woody Allen and Sid Caesar, he would hone his skills 178

8. The New Millennium Sees Broadway Breakthroughs

at the Catskills resorts. Also, like Allen, he would land a job as one of the staff writers on Caesar’s TV series,
Your Show of Shows
.

During the 1960s, Brooks would make his mark in several mediums, teaming with funnyman, and close friend Carl Reiner on the comedy rou tine
The 2000 Year Old Man
, which emerged from popular sketches to several hit comedy albums. He would also make his mark in television as co-creator (with Buck Henry) of the James Bond spoof sitcom
Get
Smart.

It was also during the 1960s that Brooks would venture into the movie business, first with a small animated film entitled
The Critic
and then with
The Producers
, which was initially rejected by one major studio after another. The storyline about two producers discovering that they could make more money on Broadway with an absolute flop was a marvelously original and unique idea. However, their creation of a mega-flop musical called
Springtime for Hitler
scared the hell out of studio heads, who wouldn’t touch the project. Eventually, an independent film company finally made
The Producers
and despite poor reviews and minimal box office numbers won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Brooks would eventually go mainstream with several classic comedy film satires, poking fun at one film genre after another to the delight of audiences and studio execs.
Blazing Saddles
,
High Anxiety
,
Young Frankenstein
and
Silent Movie
were among the classics that secured Brooks’ place as a comic genius. Unknown to many, Brooks also did his share of serious films as well, such as
The Elephant Man
, for which he did little promotion. The thinking was that if Brooks lent his name to the film, audiences would have presumed it to be a comedy, rather than the serious dramatic work that it was.

The one area Brooks had not conquered, however, was theater, and Broadway in particular. Brooks had written sketches for
New Faces of
1952
and served as co-writer for the 1957 musical
Shinbone Alley
, which had three lead cats as characters, singing and dancing for only 49 performances long before the mega-hit musical
Cats
. Although
Shinbone
Alley
was later made into an animated film, it did not land Brooks a Broadway hit.
All American
, starring Ray Bolger in 1962, with music by Charles Strouse, faired only slightly better than
Shinbone Alley
, with 80